Step #8, Day 17 Assignment

Consider this question in the context of the place where you’re thinking of relocating: Could you get by without a car? If so, do.

If not, will your residency status allow you to bring a car into the country with you duty-free? If so, would your car be an appropriate vehicle there? Would you be able to find mechanics to maintain it and parts to repair it? A friend brought his VW van with him to Medellin, Colombia, where it promptly broke down. Asking around he discovered that no one in the city could provide the parts required for the fix. He had to send off to Miami for them. Six weeks later he was still awaiting their arrival. I wonder if it ever got repaired…

If you won’t have to pay import duty…if you think your vehicle would be appropriate for the climate and the terrain…and if you can assure yourself that it’s not such an uncommon make or model that repairs and maintenance will be a challenge…then investigate the cost of shipping. The international shipping site I recommended to you yesterday in the context of sending household and personal goods from one country to another is also the best source of information on shipping a car internationally. Again, that site is www.intlmovers.com. Go there to find out what it’d cost to get your car from where it is now to where you’re thinking you’d like to be living instead.

Then go online to research the cost of buying a new or used car locally in that place. Go to Google and search for “buying a car in Country Name.” Do this for Panama, for example, and you arrive at a link for encuentra24, which is the Panamanian online classified site of choice, the best place to shop for a used anything in this country.

Try the search in English and, for Spanish-speaking countries, in Spanish or, for French-speaking countries, in French, etc. In Spanish, you’ll search for “carro/auto en venta.” In French, it’s “acheter une voiture” or “acheter une voiture occasion” (which will find you sources for a used car specifically).

All things considered, again, my bottom-line advice on this is to go car-free if at all possible. If not, buy a car when you get where you’re going. I don’t see any advantage to bringing one with you.

Kathleen Peddicord
Your New Life Overseas Coach

P.S. If you decide you will need a car in your new country of residence, remember to include the cost of owning and maintaining it in your overall budget. You’ll want to figure in the cost of insurance, of the annual registration, of fuel, of maintenance, and of repairs. In a place like Panama City, you might also want to include the cost of keeping it clean. This is one dirty town. The good news is that a primo hand washing can cost just a few dollars.